Lteitnrii 


THE  FIGHT  ! 

AGAINST 

TUBERCULOSIS 

FOR 

COMMUNITY  AND 
HOME  PROTECTION 


YOURS  AND  MINE; 
HERE  AND  NOW 


Work  of  the  Champaign  County  Anti-Tuberculosis  Health 

- 1  ■  ■ 

League  from  its  Origin  to  the  Present  Time. 

An  association  of  citizens  of  Champaign  county,  mainly  of  Urbana 
and  Champaign,  has  undertaken  to  do  everything  possible,  at  the  expense 
of  its  members,  to  protect  the  people  of  the  county,  and  especially,  thus  far, 
of  its  two  principal  towns,  against  disease  and  death  by  tuberculosis. 

While  this  enterprise  has  evident  charitable  features,  it  is  primarily  a 
movement  for  the  protection  of  the  community.  Tuberculosis  is  a  strictly 
contagious  disease,  acquired  only  from  others  already  affected  with  it.  Its 
propagation  can  be  prevented  and  the  disease  may  ultimately  be  stamped 
out,  locally  at  least,  by  measures  well  understood  and  practically  available. 
It  kills  about  seventy-five  persons  a  year  in  Champaign  county — persons  of 
all  callings  and  classes,  and  most  of  them  in  the  prime  of  life.  It  is  a  disease 
of  comparatively  slow  progress,  and  each  death  is  preceded  by  a  long 
period  of  decline,  suffering,  and  heartrending  anxiety  for  the  patient  and 
his  friends. 

The  distinguished  political  economist,  Professor  S.  I.  Fisher,  of  Yale 
University,  has  worked  out  a  money  valuation  of  the  life  of  the  average 
American  who  is  subject  to  death  by  contagious  disease,  to  the  effect  that 
such  death  is  equivalent  to  a  community  loss  of  $1700.  If  the  citizens  of 
this  county  are  average  Americans,  the  death  toll  unnecessarily  paid  to 
tuberculosis  on  this  basis  is  the  equivalent  of  $127,500  a  year,  equal  to 
5  per  cent  interest  on  an  investment  of  two  and  one-half  millions.  This 
estimate  would  necessarily  be  many  times  increased  if  account  were  taken 
of  the  various  expenses  and  the  loss  of  time  resulting  from  the  illness  of 
the  tuberculous  in  this  county.  But  this  economic  loss  is  insignificant 
on  any  scale  of  values  applicable  to  human  welfare,  when  compared  with 
the  misery,  th  orrow,  and  the  destruction  which  this  terrible  disease 
brings  in  its  train. 

A  mitigation  of  this  curse  of  tuberculosis  infection  is  the  immediate 
purpose,  and  the  cause  of  the  existence,  of  the  Champaign  County  Anti- 
Tuberculosis  Health  League.  This  is  only  the  first  part  of  its  program, 
however,  for  when  it  has  done  all  in  its  power  against  this  common  and 
destructive  malady,  it  intends  to  work  for  the  control  of  the  other  great 
contagious  diseases  prevailing  in  this  community;  and  it  does  not  expect 
to  disband  until  it  has  brought  to  bear  the  results  of  science  and  the  power 
of  sustained,  organized  effort  for  the  general  betterment  and  protection 
of  the  health  of  all  the  people  of  this  county. 

The  association  has  at  present  over  four  hundred  members.  It  has 
raised  since  its  organization,  November  10,  1911,  $1906,  and  has  applied 


DIRECT  t»ir 


this  sum  to  the  local  work.  These  funds  have  come  from  554  ordinary 
membership  fees  of  $1.00  each;  fees  of  sustaining  members  at  $5.00  each, 
amounting  to  $570;  one  life  membership  at  $50;  the  proceeds  of  the  sale 
of  Red  Cross  Christmas  Seals,  amounting  to  $445 ;  and  receipts  from  mis¬ 
cellaneous  sources  of  $287.  It  has  kept  at  work  from  the  beginning  a  vis¬ 
iting  nurse — Dr.  Carrie  Noble  White  succeeded  by  Dr.  Maude  E.  Nichols — 
at  a  salary  of  $75  a  month.  It  has  provided  a  highly  successful  course  of 
popular  lectures  by  several  leading  authorities  on  tuberculosis.  It  is  now 
preparing  to  establish  a  free  dispensary  for  the  treatment  of  needy 
patients;  and  it  should  ultimately  be  able  to  provide  a  fit  place  where 
advanced  cases  of  tuberculosis  may  be  cared  for,  as  may  be  necessary,  in 
a  way  to  protect  the  community  from  danger  of  contagion  and  to  give  to 
the  patients  themselves  a  fair  chance  of  recovery. 

It  is  the  office  of  the  visiting  inspector  to  search  out  all  cases  of  tuber¬ 
culosis  requiring  advice  or  assistance ;  to  detect  unsuspected  cases  in  time 
to  check  and  cure  the  disease  before  it  has  reached  the  infectious  stage ;  to 
teach  those  affected  by  it  how  to  care  for  themselves  so  as  to  make  them¬ 
selves  harmless  to  their  families  and  associates ;  to  give  advice,  supervision, 
and  assistance  to  the  families  of  tuberculous  patients  necessary  to  their 
own  protection,  and  to  the  proper  care  of  their  invalid  members;  to  see 
that  all  infected  houses  and  premises  are  thoroughly  fumigated,  especially 
after  the  removal  or  death  of  a  tuberculous  patient ;  and  to  take  ail  possible 
measures  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  encourage  the  despondent,  to  stim¬ 
ulate  the  negligent,  to  warn  those  in  danger,  and  to  correct  those  who  pur¬ 
sue  mistaken  courses  because  of  wrong  ideas  or  bad  advice.  This  great 
and  difficult  service  is  done  with  rare  devotion  by  an  experienced  woman — 
at  once  a  medical  graduate  and  a  trained  nurse — who  has  the  tact,  intel¬ 
ligence,  and  kindness  to  make  her  way  into  all  situations,  to  meet  all 
emergencies,  and  to  win  the  attachment  of  friends  and  the  gratitude  of 
the  helpless. 

It  is  no  part  of  her  duty,  however,  to  take  medical  charge  of  cases  as 
a  physician,  and  there  are  many  doubtful  or  suspected  cases  in  need  of  an 
accurate  diagnosis,  as  well  as  many  who  know  themselves  to  be  tuber¬ 
cular  but  are  unable  to  pay  for  proper  medical  attendance.  It  is  for  these 
that  a  free  dispensary  is  required,  and  for  lack  of  this  much  of  the  work  ^ 
of  the  visiting  inspector  is  of  little  avail.  Furthermore,  the  most  advanced  ^ 
cases  are  at  once  the  most  dangerous,  and  the  most  difficult  to  care  for 
properly.  There  are  several  such  cases  now  in  Urbana  and  Champaign,  so 
situated  that  it  is  simply  impossible  to  give  them  in  their  homes  the  kind 
of  service  and  assistance  necessary  to  their  own  comfort,  or  to  the  pro¬ 
tection  of  their  families  and  friends.  It  is  inhuman  for  an  enlightened 
and  wealthy  community  to  leave  them  to  die  in  the  lingering  agony  of  this 
dread  disease,  certain  that  they  are  not  only  doomed  themselves  but  that 
they  are  insuring  a  like  fate  for  those  nearest  to  them.  It  is  also  suicidal 
folly,  for  these  are  the  cases  that  most  endanger  the  lives  of  all  of  us.  It 
is  to  eliminate  this  danger  and  to  reduce  this  misery  to  a  minimum  that 
we  must  finally  have  a  sanitarium. 


Convinced  that  in  this  progressive  county  of  52,000  inhabitants,  and 
especially  in  these  two  cities  of  nearly  half  that  number,  many  more  than 
our  present  membership  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  persons  will  approve 
of  our  plans  if  they  understand  them,  and  will  wish  to  share  in  our  under¬ 
taking  when  they  see  its  importance  and  are  convinced  of  its  success,  the 
Anti-Tuberculosis  League  is  now  sending  out  its  agents  to  remind  former 
members  of  our  needs  and  to  invite  others  to  unite  with  us  in  maintaining 
and  developing  our  work.  Our  visiting  inspector  is  averaging  nearly  a 
hundred  and  fifty  calls  a  month,  on  sixty  families  one  or  more  members 
of  which  are  known  or  suspected  to  be  tuberculous.  The  educational  and 
protective  value  of  her  work  is  inestimable;  and  she  is  entitled  to  our 
grateful  appreciation  and  our  hearty  support.  For  a  slight  addition  to 
our  expenses  we  can  establish  a  free  dispensary  which  will  immensely 
increase  the  influence  and  usefulness  of  the  League.  Our  greatest  present 
need  is  a  larger  membership,  to  continue  year  after  year.  The  movement 
appeals  to  the  friendly,  to  the  charitable,  to  the  public  spirited,  to  those 
who  love  their  families  and  would  protect  them,  as  well  as  to  those  who 
would  take  intelligent  care  of  their  own  lives  and  health  by  helping  to 
lessen  the  danger  of  contagious  disease  in  the  surrounding  community. 

CHAS.  B.  JOHNSON,  President. 

E.  J.  TOWNSEND,  Vice-President. 

W.  W.  EARNEST,  Secretary-Treasurer. 

CHAS.  H.  WATTS,  Ch.  Com.  on  Finance. 

S.  A.  FORBES,  Ch.  Com.  on  Education  and  Pub¬ 
licity. 

W.  E.  SCHOWENGERDT,  Ch.  Com.  on  Sanita¬ 
tion  and  Medical  Assistance. 

FRANCES  NORTH,  Ch.  Com.  on  Membership. 


